Cigarettes’ harmful claim to fame isn’t limited to your lungs or your heart. How does smoking hurt your body? Let us take a look at the ways cigarettes attack the body and you’ll have a better idea. Smoking not only cuts lives short, but greatly decreases quality of life as well.
Most cigarettes contain around 4,000 chemicals, including “human-friendly” ones like cyanide and formaldehyde. Sixty of these chemicals are known to cause cancer. The list of smoking-related cancers keeps growing, and includes:
Blood carries cigarette poisons throughout the circulatory system. Among other effects, these poisons damage and narrow blood vessels, increasing the heart rate while decreasing the flow of oxygen to the rest of the body. These are a few of the cardiovascular conditions smoking contributes to:
Chemicals in cigarettes irritate air passages and lungs. They slow—and eventually stop—the cleansing action in the lungs, so poisons can remain there. Lungs become vulnerable to problems like these:
By reducing blood supply, smoking weakens both muscles and bones. It also slows the production of bone-forming cells and keeps your body from absorbing calcium. Here are some of the effects:
Smoking hurts the digestive system, which means the body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs. Smoking does this by:
Smokers notice the change in their brains almost the minute they light up. Smoking quickly changes brain chemistry, affecting mood and often leading to addiction. Brain chemistry changes, as well as decreased blood flow, increase the risk for:
Need to hear more? Smokers are at increased risk of developing the most common type of diabetes . These are a few of smoking’s other effects:
The benefits of quitting begin almost immediately. Heart rate drops within minutes. Circulation and breathing improve within months. And, among other improvements, your risk of stroke much lower after five years of quiting. Although it’s best to quit when you’re younger, you can benefit at any age.
RESOURCES:
American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org
American Lung Association
http://www.lungusa.org
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC)
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov
References:
Bjartveit K and Tverdal A. Health consequences of smoking 1–4 cigarettes per day. Tobacco Control . 2005;14:315-320.
Questions about smoking, tobacco, and health: is there a safe way to smoke? American Cancer Society website. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2x_Questions_About_Smoking_Tobacco_and_Health.asp . Accessed September 30, 2005.
Smoking. American Diabetes Association website. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/prevention/checkup-america/smoking.html. Accessed November 12, 2010.
Smoking among older adults fact sheet. American Lung Association website. Available at: http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=39862 . Accessed September 30, 2005.
Smoking and musculoskeletal health. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons website. Available at: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=240&topcategory=Wellness. Accessed September 30, 2005.
Smoking and your digestive system. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) website. Available at: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/smoking/index.htm. Accessed September 30, 2005.
Smoking: how does it cause wrinkles? Mayo Clinic website. Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=AN00644 . Accessed September 30, 2005.
Smoking: Steps to Help You Break the Habit. American Family Physicians. Family Doctor.org website. Available at: http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/addictions/tobacco/161.html. Updated December 2009. Accessed November 12, 2010.
Women and smoking: a report of the surgeon general—2001. CDC website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_forwomen/ataglance.htm . Accessed September 30, 2005.
Last reviewed November 2009 by Brian Randall, MD
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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